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Unlined Coal Ash Ponds Present Ongoing Problem

"A coal ash spill into the Dan River this week focused North Carolina’s attention on the issue of coal ash reservoirs, but unlined ponds have been leaching waste into the soil for years."

"When a broken storm pipe caused the contents of a coal ash pond from Duke Energy’s Dan River Steam Station to spill on Monday, not many of the environmentalists, lawyers and researchers who study these ponds were surprised.

For years, coal ash – the residue produced when coal is burned – has been a major problem in the Southeast because wet containers, like ponds, leach their contents into ground water and soil each year.

While it will take weeks, if not months, to begin to tease out the environmental-health impacts of the spill, the first reports from scientists and agencies are giving some pause, and others relief."